Relevance of Temples in Hindu Religion and Culture

[Guest guest]

Relevance of Temples in Hindu Religion and Culture

 

Throughout Indian history, temples have exercised an enormous influence

on religious and social life, and traditions. Famous Hindu temples such

as Somanathpur had enormous wealth and became targets of foreign

invasions. The Hindu temple is a place of worship like any other but it

has unique features that elevate it to a greater spiritual excellence

and appreciation. Orthodox temples are built according to Aagmas and

the sacred ones are located in higher altitudes on top of hills.

Elevated temples symbolize the importance of spirituality over worldly

life. Kings and rich citizens in the community provided generous

funds to the construction and maintenance of temples. Temples have

contributed to the employment of architects, artisans, sculptors, and

laborers. The shrines and icons have given peace to the frustrated

minds. Music, dance and fine arts programs including religious and

musical discourses staged in the temples have encouraged musicians,

dancers, dramatists, artists and religious scholars. The granaries of

temples were used to feed the hungry, and temple buildings have provided

shelters to both scholars and students. Some temples were equipped to

provide medical services to the sick, elderly, and disabled. Thus,

temples have provided a variety of religious and social services and

reinforced economic and social welfare of the Indian society. Hindu

temples in the U.S. and Canada act as cultural ambassadors and provide

spiritual and educational services to the Indian Community.

 

The temple also portrays God in the cosmic form. The statue of

Nataraja ( the dancing poses of Lord Siva) is a well-known example for

the artistic, scientific and philosophical significance of idols.

Hundreds of articles and books have been written about the significance

of the Nataraja's dance posture. In the PBS show, COSMOS, Professor

Carl Sagan asserts that the dance of Nataraja signifies the cycle of

evolution and destruction of the cosmic universe (Big-Bang Theory). The

dance statue of Nataraja is a symbolic representation of Vedanta. The

dwarfish demon crushed under the feet represents the demonic ego, within

which prevents humans to attain the inherent peace and bliss. The

crushing of ego is necessary to regain the Supreme Bliss! A complete

description is beyond the scope of this present article, and I will take

it up separately.

Vedanta, the starting premise of Hindu Religion, asserts that Brahman

(the abstract God) is the Absolute Truth. The Brahman has multiple

roles to play: the creator, the mountaineer, and the destroyer all in

one. Vedanta states that the universal soul, Brahman is eternal and the

individual human soul, Atman ultimately superimposes the Brahman.

Advaita recognizes the ultimate identity of Brahman (Universal soul) and

Jivatman (human soul). Dwaita opposes Advaita on almost all points and

maintains the ultimate diversity of Brahman and Jivatman. Visistadvaita

(qualified non-duality) maintains a crucial differentiation as well as a

fundamental identity. The Advaita Vedanta is revealed by the sitting

and meditating pose of the Ayyappa Deity (replica of the presiding deity

of Sabari Hills) in the Sri Siva-Vishnu temple. The temple brochure

explains beautifully the symbolism of the sitting posture of Swami

Ayyappa. The Lord sits with his thumb and forefinger crossed in a

symbol of Chinmudra. The thumb represents the Atman and the forefinger

is the Jeeva. There is no gap between the Atman and the Jeeva. Inside

the sanctum sanctorum, devotees maintain single-minded concentration and

meditation, experiencing the highest spiritual consciousness by the

Darshan (vision) of Lord Ayyappa.

The Hindu philosophy and logic provide unassailable strength to the

concept of the fundamental unity in the worship of a multitude of gods.

Hinduism is highly individualistic and Hindus love the freedom to

worship their personal choice of an icon (IshTa DevaTa) to visualize the

abstract Brahman. The rapid growth of temples, gods, and rituals across

India and beyond represent the visualization of "Infinity" by the finite

"mind." Even illiterate villagers are proud and enthusiastic to

elaborate on stories about their temple gods and their significance.

Such stories invariably are more adventurous and heroic t "Superman"

episodes, but with a divine touch. The temple epitomizes God in a

spiritual form and the various parts of his body symbolizes

philosophical concepts. It serves as the symbolic link between Human

and God, between Material and Spiritual and between Obvious and Ideal.

Names of the miscellaneous segments of the temple designate different

organs of the human body (Garbhagraha (Sanctum Sanctorum) represents the

human heart).

The symbolism of temple worship is analogous to the modern

communication methods adopted by the computer industry. They both

adjust to the diverse tastes and needs of the world. Only a small

segment of the general public really looks for sophistication and

special features. The majority of the common folk demand simple

illustrations and practical examples rather than lengthy logic and

boring intellectual debates! The computer industry employs creative

graphic displays of "icons" to satisfy the general public. Behind every

Icon on the computer screen, there is a complex computer program resides

on the hard-drive. The common folks don't pay attention to the logic of

the computer program and ask and look only for results and

functionality. The Hindu symbolism strongly demonstrates its

disapproval of "one-size-fits-all theory!" Artistic temples with

idols, heroic stories, and colorful and meaningful rituals demonstrate

this fact. But only knowledgeable Hindus can grasp and unravel the

symbolism and unearth the philosophical and spiritual truths. Puranic

stories create role models by dramatization of legendary events to

preserve social ethics (Dharma). An ideal spouse, parent, offspring, or

teacher is orchestrated to help the society to conduct its daily duties

(Nithya karma). Hinduism has perfected the art of symbolism as a

powerful media to teach complex philosophical ideas to the common man.

The communication of values using the Puranic stories in Hinduism could

be the origin for the modern case study procedures applied in business

management institutions.

[Guest guest]

At 12:51 PM 8/4/99 -0400, you wrote:

>Ram Chandran <chandran

>

> The Brahman has multiple roles to play: the creator,

> the mountaineer, and the destroyer all in one.

>

gee... I thought Visnu was the mountaineer ! :-))

 

P.S.

I read every word with interest Ram and am looking

forward to your comments about Siva you hinted

you might deal with in a separate post.